#a little tricky to get shape to hold!

[mobgoblin]

made some 🍡🍡🍡🍡🍡 !!!

[thatsherastro]

Random Astro Notes Part 2: Water Sign Edition

If you are sensitive this post/ page may not be for you. These are general observations, aspects & houses matter. xoxo

Which element should I do next ? Fire , Air or Earth?

Cancers can be so sweet. These are the type of people to make sure that you are comfortable and wake up and cook you breakfast.

Pisces venus can attract partners who are questionable , drug dealers , criminals or maybe even a little mentally unstable

Nobody does emotional manipulation like a cancer. They will make you feel bad for what they did to you.

It may seem like your scorpio placement friend is paranoid but trust them sometimes when they give you a warning. These ppl have seen some of the worst parts of life. They know how dark things can get.

Pisces Venus & mars can have a foot fetish or be completely disgusted by feet lol no in between

Scorpios are dying to tell you their business lowkey. They really just want to build that trust and security first before taking you to their underworld.

Pisces can be really charitable.

Hey, scorpio mars remember:

Sex ≠ true intimacy

Ok please don’t throw tomatoes at me just yet 😭 but some pisces can be such kleptos & please don’t let gemini be in the mix of that chart. Go ahead & hide your wallet.

Cancers tend to hold onto toxic people because of nostalgia.

Pisces hold onto toxic people because they feel pity for them and want to save them in someway shape or form

Scorpios hold on to toxic people because in a way they feel that love is pain. These people are truly dedicated to suffering because of their loyalty.

Having Pisces in the 2H can really bless you financially. It’s like you make money in your sleep but be mindful that neptune aspect gets tricky. These people will spend all of their money before they even get it. Also STOP GIVING PEOPLE YOUR MONEY!!!

Thank you for reading 🫶🏾 Like & Follow for more

[pullupinarari]

heyyy i really love your blurbs, it's always fun and heartwarming to read 💗

can i give you some idea?

lewis and yn were in their early stages of relationship, and one day lewis slept over in yn's place and he found out yn had a lot of bruises like in her elbow, arms, legs even in her thighs. lewis was so concerned with that. he hesitated to ask her, then turned out it's just yn was so careless and clumsy that she randomly bumped herself into a lot of things. since then lewis always kept his eyes whenever yn with him, just to protect her so she didn't bump herself into anything.

thank you for always being open for any ideas, love you 💗💗

a/n: thank you so much for your lovely words, my love!! i love you too 🩷 thank you for sharing this idea with me, i related to it so much, even if i think this definitely isn't the best i've ever written, i'm just feeling a little blocked lately. hope you can still enjoy it 🩷

Facing the early stages of a relationship can be tricky: you are still getting to know each other, acknowledging the other’s brightest ideas while discovering who they are on their darkest days - while also allowing yourself to be vulnerable around your newfound half. 

Lewis is an easy-going, lighthearted guy. It’s easy to steal a laugh from him, and rare are the days when you won’t see him with a smile on his face. Even while struggling with his own problems, he is a caring boyfriend, the one who pays full attention to his girlfriend when you are speaking, learning every little detail about your favorite things so he can surprise you. 

It’s been four months since you two started dating - the four lightest moments that you have memory of in your entire life. Lewis makes you feel heard, seen, loved. 

Being his attentive self, your boyfriend soon began to notice that it was a recurrent event for you to bump into lots of different things: tables, doors, even going against the wall while walking. 

Lewis would often make jokes about your clumsiness. 

- Looks like you’re a pro at finding corners to bump into. - a small chuckle would leave his lips, while trying to help you recompose your frame after you lost your balance and nudge the table again. 

It was a regular scene to find you lean onto the wall while distractedly walking, in the exact same way you would bump into Lewis while walking side by side with him.

He usually would make funny remarks about it, playing it off like it wasn’t anything major - just as you would do. But, on this particular weekend, his mind couldn’t even think about cracking a joke when he looked at your legs. 

Lewis had just come back from a triple header, missing you like crazy - feeling anxious to finally be able to hold you close all night, driving straight to your place with his pyjamas, a change of clothes in a bag and the eagerness to peacefully sleep next to you again. 

His eyes follow your figure as you walk inside the room with your night clothes on already. Wearing shorts, your legs are in full display for him to capture every detail of your shape. But instead, his gaze is fixed on the several bruises that adorn your skin, leaving your boyfriend confused. 

With furrowed eyebrows, he follows your body, until you finally reach the mattress to lay beside your favorite form of all - his. You wrap your arms around his torso, lying your head in his chest as you study his features. 

- What’s wrong? - your sweet voice asks him, worried growing inside of you the more you look at his confused expression. 

As much as the words almost threaten to spill from his lips on their own, Lewis doesn’t know if he should ask. Maybe you might find it weird or invasive if he asks why your legs are covered in bruises - remember, you haven’t been together for that long. 

But the concern growing in his chest is bigger than that. What if something happened to you while he was away? The intrusive thoughts are quick to invade his mind: what if something happened and he wasn’t here to protect you? And why haven’t you told him anything about it? Maybe you’re embarrassed? Maybe you don’t want him to worry? But that’s nonsense, he’s already worrying sick. 

With some hesitation lacing his voice, Lewis finally speaks. 

- Baby, what happened to your legs? Why are you full of bruises? Did something happen to you? - he bombs you with questions, on the verge of feeling his heart pumping blood into his veins faster as he inspects the surprised look on your face.

You stay silent for a second, looking down at your legs and remembering where each one of the bruises came from. With a smile on your face, you turn your attention to your boyfriend again, who’s looking down at you with his big, characteristic puppy eyes. 

- Oh, my love. You can breathe, okay? Nothing happened, it’s just my clumsy self that bumped into multiple things in a short period of time. You know, some things just never change - you nudge the tip of his nose with yours, smiling at the way he seems to relax at your words. 

Placing a loving kiss on your lips, he shakes his head at you. 

- Do I need to take measures into my own hands? I can’t have you all bruised, babe. - his tone softens, his mouth working to kiss your cheeks, nose, neck, multiple times now. 

Ever since that day, Lewis decided to dedicate an extra percentage of his attention to your clumsy state - actually trying to help you not to get so bruised. When you would get near the corner of a table, your boyfriend would put his hand on it, realizing that you would bump into it already. 

He would gently hold your figure when he noticed that you were losing your balance, while looking at your phone or distracted with something, and he would always make sure to do it discreetly when you two were in public, not wanting you to feel embarrassed.

When you drop something, he makes sure to protect your head with his hand, from all the borders of the furniture around - if you had to hit something, it would be his hand and not a sharp edge.

Keeping a protective eye on you so you don’t hurt yourself quickly became one of his everyday tasks. He wouldn’t mind bruising his own hand on the corners, as long as you would stay far from them, and safe from getting so many bruises on your body. And he can’t deny that, silently, he loves his new job, because he gets the best type of payment for it everytime that he saves you from another bruise - your sweet, thankful kisses.

[ancientgoddessofegypt]

The First House Glow

The first house is the side of us that blooms when we first enter into the world. It is the energy we merged with and bring with us upon meeting new people and enjoying our experiences here. It is the first song we listen to upon birth, and throughout this life time we will listen to its words, time and time again.

Today, I present a short n sweet diary of small interps of each planet in this house. Enjoy <3

Sun in the 1st - A personality that is big and boastful. Light hearted and full of joy. A person you want to get to know and always keep on your side. It is as if they shine a light on your behalf, just so you can see the beauty that is life. Special individuals who's purpose is to show who they are no matter what the world tells them. Have angels by their side guiding them into the sun, as they we're born to be it after all.

Moon in the 1st - Empathetic souls who's desire to bring love into the universe is heard from the stars and is brought back down to them as a gift to us. These individuals carry a heart that heals the world in some way shape or form. Their desire to heal themselves helps others see the internal light that is in us all. They have an ability to see beyond what others wish for them to see, and whatever they show back to you is a blessing in disguise, truly.

Mercury in the 1st - Very patient individuals. Fun, loving, child-like creatures who's playfulness can cause an uproar. They will give you a round of emotions just dealing with them, but its alright. There is always a purpose in it. They enjoy the rollercoaster that life brings. They could be naughty or nice, like a sour patch kid. You never know what's truly up with them. They're tricky beings after all.

Venus in the 1st - A poised, graceful personality. A beautiful delight to the world and everyone knows it. They're chosen to be well-known for their looks, beauty & charm and they use this to their advantage. Delicate creatures who's joy brings people to a full stop. Having to take a picture before they go, just so they can hold onto it forever more. Very brilliant underneath the surface. Stick around longer, don't just keep staring at em!

Mars in the 1st - Wise, strong, gifted creators of their world. They take all of their strength and vigor and find the path worth taking. Their confidence is looked upon as something that most people would never be able to conquer themselves. How do they get up each day without a care in the world? Even when the world is constantly throwing stones, they pick them up and throw them right back. Or, they make a special throne out of them. Glued together with sticks and used as a comfort seat for all the times people tried to hurt them, but they always got back up wiser and stronger every time.

Uranus in the 1st - The Impeccable, brilliant star has to back to earth to show us what they're really made of. The lightening that strikes before the storm. They are comfortable in their universe and as should you. A compass of the future, and a super star that ignites the flame in those who need it for themselves. Energy healers who's code is to open up the minds of a few, to prepare for world domination. Stellar individuals who's experience isn't like anyone elses. Simply came to be a new version of society.

Neptune in the 1st - Angels of the delight. The muse of the heavens. The imagination is their physical experience. Whatever it is they wish to see, it comes true times three. In the mind, soul and body, they become the world that is inside of themselves, and they bring it out for you all to watch. Compassionate hearts that lead them to the true path. That is to connect to the highest waters that reaches to the divine. Only here for a little while, to show the universe what the heart wants.

Jupiter in the 1st - Captivating auras who's presence takes us on a journey with God. Divine experiences can happen at any moment. You call it luck, while they call it a blessing. Only the real will survive with this placement. Their optimism is more of a medicine than something that you just do. They came a long way just to get there, and in no way shape or form will anyone ruin it. Life changing experiences happen only once and a lifetime, and they can tell the difference between that and something that isn't aligned with their true calling.

Pluto in the 1st - Precise thinkers. Level headed warriors. Strong survivors of the life they once lived, and only they know what it is like to live a certain way and come out on top. They do not hold on to lasting behaviors that drain them, they conquer their deepest desires by hunting for the deep, darkest part of themselves and opening a doorway for that new reality to enter. Very special people when you get to know them, they never hide in the dark for long.

Saturn in the 1st - Capable of anything because their hearts beg for it. If they want it they always go for it with a strong mind.No one can stop them from enjoying the fruits of their labor because they sought after it for years on end. Mature individuals that depend on themselves more than anyone, and their beautiful souls go on an every lasting journey to find it. Smooth, charismatic individuals who are looked up to by others. Can be very sweet, when they want to be.

I hope you all enjoyed this one ! Let me know what you think in the comments !

[thewanderingmask]

my submission for the hermitcraft season 10 fan art gallery: Xisuma Eternal! (actual size on left, embiggened version on right)

there are a ton of little thoughts that went into this and i will now go off about them at length (ramble under the cut)

let's start with the image layout and composition! my first idea was to do an homage to the original doom box art because of X's skin, but ultimately I decided on referencing this Eternal cover (hence the title of the piece) because it sparked some stronger ideas in my brain.

i still wanted to keep that link to the original though, so i did my very best to emulate the original logo with X's name - replacing the original texture with binary as one of many references to X's role supporting the technical side of the server.

(for no reason other than my own amusement, the binary in the letters is translated lyrics from X's verse in the hermit gang song. i don't even know how much of that is still visible after lining the letters, but i liked putting it there)

i've only been watching hermitcraft for a few months, and there's an awful lot of history i don't know about. so i focused on doing my best celebrating builds X has worked on here in season 10! i would have loved to include his base as well, but ultimately i ran out of room.

(there are still a few nods to other seasons based on knowledge i've acquired through osmosis. evil X is the most obvious, but i was also able to sneak in a couple small carvings next to the X in the title text!)

coming back around to xisuma's work on the technical side, that's why Evil X is backed by error windows. it's also why xisuma is holding a toolbox! it was the best visual metaphor i could come up with for the digital job of maintenance and repair.

(and of course he has a lovely cup of tea as well)

the allays (holding redstone) are partially in reference to farms X has been making, partially bringing back in that angelic/demonic vibe of Doom, and mostly because their intended role of supporters and helpers feels very thematically appropriate for X.

the lines in the sky are of course meant to evoke the shapes of mace race, and the black cube is a minecraft-ified version of the Soulside Eclipse logo.

(if you're not familiar, that's xisuma's music! it's good!! give it a listen sometime! it's on youtube!)

the silverfish at the very bottom are visual reference to the demon hordes of Doom - and of course they're also much more directly referencing X's very clever prank in impulse's city.

finally, on the walls of spawn we have the carved symbols - one for every other hermit. i remember X mentioning in a stream once something about fulfillment from supporting others. (i apologise if i'm remembering less than clearly.) it just felt like if i wanted to represent X, it felt important to include them as well.

and of course it made me happy to do something for Every hermit, since all of them

(smallishbeans/joel was actually the one i got most stuck on! there wasn't really a single item or symbol i could think of to narrow him down to. ultimately i decided on a torii gate and a little letter J, but i'm honestly still thinking about it)

ah right, and the Actual last thing: this turner out to be totally unnecessary, but i absolutely did draw this in the minecraft map hex code colours. it's a tricky palette to work with, and i learned a LOT about pixel art while trying to get the sky to look nice!

this piece took about 10 days to complete, maybe the longest i've ever spent on a single illustration like this - and honestly, i'm really happy and pretty proud of how it turned out!!

[fatuismooches]

a lesson in cooking.

“There you are, my love!” You exclaimed as you saw Kabukimono coming into sight, holding a few packed bags. You had sent him to pick up some ingredients from your fellow villagers and the small market, as you had begun to run low on some things. You had initially planned to go too, but Kabukimono insisted on you resting while he did all the work. He was rather persistent, and you knew that he had this odd trait of needing to prove himself to you, so you couldn’t bring yourself to decline his request.

You rushed out of the house to his side, hoping to take some of the bags to alleviate him of the weight. But the puppet did not budge, only pouting. “Don’t worry about me, [Name]. I can handle this by myself,” he stated, trying to seem as serious as possible, but his pouting, chubby squeezable cheeks didn’t help his case. You had to settle for supporting his back as he climbed up the stairs to your house and rested the bags on the kitchen table, trying not to chuckle as he not so secretly let out a sigh of relief.

You had decided to teach Kabukimono one of the simplest yet most nutritious and delicious meals - soup. He had been eager lately to learn how to cook lately. Not only to learn more about humans and their activities, but it seems like he wants to help out in the village more. How cute.

After you did all the basic preparations like washing your hands and making space in the kitchen, you spoke. “Alright, the first thing we need to do is wash and cut up the produce we’re going to use,” you instructed, pulling up your sleeves. Kabukimono copied you keenly.

“Let’s do the carrots first.” After you washed and placed the carrots on the cutting board, you pondered on how you were going to do this. You never really taught something like this before… but it shouldn’t be too hard, right? Plus, your lover was an avid learner. Though diced or shaped carrots would be too hard for Kabukimono right now, so you should just go with coined ones.

“Okay, the first thing we have to do is peel the carrot. It can be a little tricky, so just watch me first,” you instructed, showing him how to peel the skin of the vegetable with the knife. The puppet watched intently with immense focus and furrowed eyebrows, and you couldn’t help but smile. “Here, now you try,” you said, handing him the knife. Kabukimono had a determined look on his face as he clumsily tried to peel the carrots, but not much progress was being made, and immediately a pout appeared on his face.

“It’s not working,” he whined, a bit discouraged already from how easily you did it, and yet he was struggling at the first step.

“You’re not going to get it on your first try. It takes practice, just like anything else,” you cooed, reassuring him. “Just keep trying, we have all day. Here, I’ll help you.” At your words, the puppet perked up again and began to repeat the process, this time with your hand gently placed on top of his, helping him use the knife to peel. Kabukimono’s reddened face had gone down by the time all the carrots were peeled. 

“Good job, baby. Now, you have to cut the top and bottom part of it, like this. And then cut the whole thing in half. See?” You demonstrated yet again and the puppet followed your actions, a bit awkwardly, but still better than the peeling.

“Now, it’s time for the actual cutting. See, just place the knife above like this, press down, and keep moving along…” you cut the carrots at a slow pace to ensure he’d do the same thing. He soon copied your movements, though it wasn’t perfect - some slices were too thin or thick, but that was alright, you assured. He was trying his best and that was what mattered.

Though you probably shouldn’t have taken your eyes off him, not even a second.

You had come to realize the puppet had no sense of danger. He would stick his hand into a fire and get surprised when it hurt. He would jump into the water and then realize he couldn’t swim. You thought his thirst for new experiences to be cute, but frequently you would worry if he hurt himself on accident. So usually, you took it upon yourself to watch the learning puppet carefully, but even you slipped up sometimes.

So when you turned around to gather some of the other ingredients, and then were greeted by the sight of Kabukimono’s bleeding finger, you mentally kicked yourself.

“Oh Kabukimono… let’s get that cleaned up,” you urged, moving his bleeding finger to a bucket of water and some soap. You begin to clean the wound while Kabukimono looked on guiltily.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized sincerely, giving you those big baby eyes that made your heart squeeze. “I just wanted to be like you, with how you cut them so fast.”

“Is that what you did? Yes, I can cut them quickly because I’ve been doing this for many years. You’ve just started so you need to take it slow,” you gently lectured. Reaching into a cabinet, you then wrapped some gauze around his injured finger. You sighed, placing a soft kiss on it.

“What was that for?” Kabukimono had a faint flush on his face. You raised your eyebrow, sensing a new opportunity for some teasing.

“It’s simply a boo-boo kiss,” you giggled. “I’m just kissing your cut so it can heal faster!��� Kabukimono looked astonished and fascinated.

“Does that actually work? Actually, I feel better already!” The puppet cheered with glee.

“Of course it does. Because I love you very, very much, Kabukimono,” you finished your sentence with one more kiss to his bandaged finger and another to his forehead. “But you must take more care of yourself. I don’t want you getting hurt again, understand?” He obediently nodded and you smiled. “Now, would you like to continue or do you want to watch me finish this up?”

“I still want to help you! This is nothing for me,” he declared, puffing out his chest. You smiled and patted his head, and this time carefully supervised him as he cut up the other vegetables, meat, and whatnot.

Kabukimono and you enjoyed an eventful evening of taste testing, mixing, and experimenting. Niwa ended up coming over for some soup as well and loudly called you two an old, married couple, which you would have shouted at him for, but Kabukimono looked so pleased you didn’t have the heart to. You briefly wonder how the puppet would react to actually getting married to you. To be tied to you for eternity. You think he’d be a wonderful husband, and you already felt a deep connection to him. Hell, the two of you were eating dinner and talking about your day together every day. Was that not a prime example of what loving married couples do?

“Is it good, Kabukimono?” You inquired about the taste as the two of you sat at the kitchen table yet again. You knew he didn’t need to eat, but he should still be able to enjoy delicious food like everyone else. Kabukimono eagerly nodded.

“Your food always tastes good, [Name]!”

“It’s not just my food this time. It’s yours too,” you giggled, booping his nose gently as he blushed. “So, do you want me to feed you?” you teased.

His mouth opened and closed, speechless and unsure of what to say, until you clarified you were just joking. The puppet was a mixture of disappointment and relief as he dug into his food.

Well, you ended up having to feed him anyway, since he ended up with a slightly burnt tongue and refused to stop cuddling with you afterward, too embarrassed to face you… You’ll have to start teaching Kabukimono not to eat hot things so quickly. 

Maybe you should teach him how to make juice by squeezing fruits? There should be something for Lavender Melons, right? Well, that was for another day. Right now, you had a teary-eyed eccentric to comfort.

lesson 1. lesson 2. lesson 3. lesson 4. lesson 5. lesson 6. lesson 7. lesson 8. lesson 9. lesson 10. bonus lesson.

[kiwi]

I love Joe Cool Cat!! Question: did you use a particular pattern as a base or follow any specific set of design principles?

omg thank you for letting me talk abt puppets, i have been rabid

i followed this video to make the head shape and mouthplate (joe cool cats head is just flatter than the example, and i shaved down the jaw mouthplate a bit so that he has sort of an overbite, which left room for me to add fangs)

for the rest i winged it! its all stuff i found around the house so some of the materials arent ideal. the skin is felt which doesnt move well and makes him kinda stiff, so next time i definitely want to try fleece or fake fur

however the felt worked really well for the hands! its two flat hand shapes sandwiched together with a wire skeleton in between so theyre posable, like kermit the frog's. if you plan to make posable fingers though you should really use armature wire instead of random wire lying around like i did :( one of his fingers is broken already but it had a great grip before it busted. his other hand isnt attached to his vest at all, the fingers are just strong enough to hold it on his own! this leaves space for movement as the middle of his arm flaps around and makes him more lifelike

his body is just a simple rectangle of fabric made into a tube (like the sleeve of a shirt) and his arms are attached by safety pins so that they can be removed and replaced. the pins are hidden by his vest, which is also detached so that it can move naturally and allow for repairs. i learned that by looking at the notes from the jim henson team on display at the puppet museum in atlanta! :•) definitely a must visit if youre able

design wise, hes based on the vibes of the band The Stray Cats, especially their songs Stray Cat Strut and Nine Lives. id like to add more patches and buttons on his vest (the little pin he's wearing is made by covering a sewing button with fabric). the vest itself is a single piece with holes cut out for the arms because i was not about to follow a clothing pattern

things i would replace or do differently next time:

- more flexible fabric on the head. stiff felt doesnt work well!

- use stronger wire specifically meant for posing in the hands

- make the arms a little shorter and attach the pole by the wrist instead of the elbow. i wanted him to be kinda long and skinny but overdid it, and i thought i was clever by making the stick come out of his elbow. his movements look cool but hes tricky to maneuver, especially when trying to raise his hand to his face (arms too long and the stick often gets in the actual puppeteer's way)

- try using a little less hot glue and a little more sewing for ease of movement and repair

anyway yeah ive been super into learning about this stuff lately and im working on a blinking puppet next! i might be doing a small puppet show next month if i finish the other members in joe cool cat's band. if anybody has questions or wants to talk puppets dont be shy pls! im already talking my roommates ears off about it lol

[the-offside-rule]

Ruben Dias (Manchester City) - Wrap It Up

Day 17 of Christmas

Prompt: Wrapping a Gift

25 Days of Christmas

Y/n and Ruben sat side by side on the floor of their cozy living room, a fire crackling softly in the fireplace, and Christmas music playing in the background. The warm glow of the lights from the Christmas tree cast a soft light across the room, highlighting the dozens of gifts piled around them. “Alright, are you ready?” Ruben asked, his dark eyes gleaming with competitive energy as he eyed the roll of wrapping paper in front of him.

Y/n smirked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Oh, I was born ready. But don’t get too cocky, Ruben. You might be good at football, but I’ve got years of present-wrapping experience.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “We’ll see about that.” They’d set up a challenge: Each would pick three gifts from the pile, wrap them to the best of their ability, and then the winner would be crowned the Christmas Wrapping Champion. The stakes? The loser would have to cook Christmas breakfast the next morning.

Ruben reached for his first box, a small, square one. Easy. He grabbed his favorite plaid wrapping paper and set to work, cutting out a piece with precision. Y/n watched out of the corner of her eye, trying to focus on her own gift—a large, oddly shaped one that looked like it might have been a stuffed animal. She huffed as she fumbled with the paper, trying to make sure it didn't crinkle too much.

“This is child’s play.” Ruben said smugly as he folded the edges of his wrapping paper perfectly. His hands worked quickly, folding, cutting, and taping in neat, seamless movements. “Don’t get too comfortable.” Y/n muttered, biting her lip as she finally managed to secure the edges of her gift. It wasn’t as smooth as she’d like, but she knew she could make up for it with the ribbon. She grabbed a gold one and tied it in a perfect bow, smirking at her own creativity.

“Done!” Ruben announced proudly, holding up his first wrapped gift, perfectly square with not a single piece of tape visible. Y/n raised an eyebrow, trying not to let her nerves show. “Not bad,” she admitted, glancing at her own work. The gift might not have been as clean, but it was festive, and the bow added a nice touch. “But I’m not done yet.”

She grabbed her next gift; a cylindrical one, which was always tricky. Ruben’s confidence only grew as he started on his second gift, a long, narrow one that was much easier to handle. He worked quickly, folding the edges neatly, while Y/n wrestled with her wrapping paper, trying to get it to sit evenly around the awkward shape. “You know-” Ruben said with a playful grin. “There’s no shame in admitting defeat. I mean, you could always just make me breakfast now and save yourself the trouble.”

“Ha! You wish.” Y/n shot back, finally managing to secure the last piece of tape on her gift. “I’m just warming up.” They both worked in silence for the next few minutes, the competitive tension rising as they raced to finish their last gifts. Y/n was on a roll now, her fingers flying as she wrapped her final present, a perfectly rectangular box that allowed her to show off her skills. She used silver paper this time, adding a big red bow to finish it off. When they both finished, they sat back to admire their handiwork.

“Okay, let’s judge.” Y/n said, standing up to survey the gifts. Ruben’s gifts were near perfect, neat edges, flawless taping, everything symmetrical. It was clear he’d taken his time with each one, and Y/n had to admit, they were impressive. But her gifts had personality. Sure, they weren’t as smooth or pristine, but they had flair. The mismatched bows, the colorful paper, and the little personalized name tags she’d added gave them a festive, cozy feel. They both stared at each other’s pile for a moment before Ruben crossed his arms, a grin on his face. “So, who’s the winner?”

Y/n chewed her lip, pretending to think it over. “Well�� yours are very neat, I’ll give you that. But mine have character.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Ruben teased. “Alright, fine, I admit yours look like they were wrapped by a professional.” Y/n said with a mock sigh. “But you have to admit mine are more fun.” Ruben chuckled, shaking his head. “Alright, I’ll give you points for creativity. But neatness is kind of important, too.”

“Hmm, let’s call it a tie then.” Y/n suggested, a mischievous gleam in her eye. “A tie?” Ruben raised an eyebrow. “You just don’t want to lose and make breakfast tomorrow.” Y/n laughed, leaning closer to him. “Or maybe I’m just trying to get you to cook with me.” Ruben grinned, pulling her into his arms. “Alright, fine. We’ll make breakfast together. But next year, I’m coming for the win.”

[raayllum]

Analysis of the cube scene

Because it's like 0.2 seconds and I still have thoughts, so here we go.

First things first, I want to talk expression change, since we see Callum while speaking when you heighten the exposure on the clip's beginning that his eyebrows are a lot more raised, and then it hardens not quite into full-on anger maybe, but resignation.

We can also see the tip of Callum's hand gloves as he apparently holds the cube up. It's not absurd for him to hold the cube in his hand, as he has done many times before, but it seems more likely now in S7 that it's a reference back to this post from his pawn intro.

As for the background, whereas last time Callum being corrupted in the trailer featured Finnegrin's office (hence it + the overt framing of Aaravos) made it clear it was a nightmare, this background is a little more ambiguous. In my big trailer breakdown analysis, I noted that maybe the group would try to collect their allies, and the mushrooms look like the big ones we see near Zubeia.

So if Callum is standing or on sitting up on eye-level with some, that makes sense. His background also looks a little like the entrance to the Pit of Despair for the smooth blue shape, but it doesn't have any of the red mushrooms, so I'm ruling that out and putting it closer to Zubeia.

There's a few reasons we could be going to get Zubeia! We could be going to get her for her help, or mushroom salves if the Sunfire elves decide to try and purify Lux Aurea / themselves again in order to thwart Aaravos' plans if he needs both Sun and Moon to be actively corrupted (it does seem like Lux Aurea becomes safer later on in the trailer). Callum could be having a nightmare on his way to the Mushroom mage for that purpose, brought about by the knowledge that Aaravos is out, or Aaravos messing with his head again.

His nightmares previously seemed more induced by the corruption/Aaravos' hold on him (6x01) and his direct worry about it (6x03) when he knew being possessed was an option, as it is no longer, but they could retread ground from S6. Janai is seemingly receiving nightmares from Aaravos despite having no connection with dark magic, so it's certainly possible even if it I think it's less likely (more on that in a bit).

I've also wondered about what the "darkness and corruption will overwhelm you" would look like. Is it instantaneous, or is it slow-going? If it's the latter, Callum could be on his way to the mushroom mage in hopes of purifying himself before it takes over him completely, and has the vision of the cube going dark magic-y red during a night of fitful rest.

One of the things that makes discerning whether this is a dream or reality especially hard is that we know that dark magic dreams can be prophetic (the rune cube in Callum's in 2x08 highlighting ocean and moon, highlighting that he would use dark magic again in S5 Ocean and for his Moonshadow elf; little Claudia saying she's following in Viren's "footstep" (singular) or walking out into the ocean; Aaravos seemingly revealing information to Janai for whatever reason).

So Callum's 2x08 dream with the cube could reference the cube itself being corrupted somehow, and turning Aaravos' book into the ultimate guide to dark magic rather than primal magic. Perhaps the whole screenshot is based in reality.

The other thing that's tricky is that we know that dreams and reality can be blurred, tying into the prophetic aspect from before.

So aspects of it could be a dream / nightmare (Callum sees the dark magic cube, we do a wide cut to see he's corrupted - though he can't see it, maybe he could feel it?) or it could be fully reality, or a mixture of the two. I'm probably leaning towards the mixture option unless we discover the cube itself can be corrupted (which it presumably is tied to primal magic if not deep magic, so conceivably it Could??).

I'm also deeply curious about the context of Callum's "however dangerous, however vile". Unlike Viren or Claudia, it's not a refrain he's said before in a dream or otherwise, nor would he presumably have ever heard any of them say it. Perhaps he and Aaravos have a conversation, and Aaravos taunts him with the phrase or brings it up? Or he could hear Claudia say it in their duel in S7.

And there's our 500-ish words on a split second scene, what do you think is happening in it?

[autisticlancemcclain]

“Pass me the — thing.”

“The thing.”

“Yes. The one.”

Hunk’s amusement is evident. “Here’s the thing about capital-T Things, Pidge Podge.”

She makes a face. Ugh, not him too. The annoying nicknames Lance comes up with always seem to end up in other people’s vocabularies. It’s the worst. (They don’t even make sense, either. Her name comes from Pascha, her Hebrew name, because she was tiny even when she was a baby. And Matt is ridiculous. But Lance’s names come from nowhere!)

(…She supposes she’ll allow it, though. Occasionally. Because she’s the best ever, basically, and endlessly benevolent.)

“Things in concept are referential,” Hunk continues, snickering to himself as he dodged her blind kick. “Ergo, you need to reference them. Specifically. Outside of your own brain.”

She makes a noise of frustration, tilting her head in the direction of the scrap pile on Hunk’s work table. “The thing! Shiny! With the— blegh!” She is Focused right now, alright. There are Processes happening in her brain. Words are secondary.

“I’m just going to ignore you now.”

“No! The thing! The thing that looks like a dreidel!”

“There we go,” he says emphatically. She scowls at him. He grins brightly. She holds her glare for a whopping three seconds, which is frankly record-breaking, so. Point to her. “That’s a referential Thing.”

He scoops up the piece and tosses it at her. She catches it without looking (which is wicked cool and something she will subtly mention next time she watches Allura drop something) and sets it on the table top beside her, finishing up a tricky solder. Leaning back to admire her handiwork, which is, indeed, quite handy, her gaze keeps getting pulled to the little part.

“You know, it really does look like a dreidel.” She picks it up by the stem, flicking the little acorn-shaped object and watching it spin. It works like one, too.

Hunk hums. After a few moments, curious at the air newly lacking the sounds of her tinkering, he looks over at her. He purses his lips thoughtfully.

“…What day is it on Earth, do you think?”

Pidge shrugs. “We left in late May. Been a few months, at least.”

“Lance has a watch.”

“Course he does. ‘Cause he’s a big ol’ nerd geek loser.”

Hunk snorts. “Indeed.”

At the same time, without either of them having to say a word, they scramble to their feet, abandoning their projects and rushing out the workroom door.

“Pool?” Hunk asks.

“Nah, training room. He was in the pool this morning.”

Neither of them is particularly fast, but after months of Shiro’s training they can handle their own. They don’t, sprint, per se, because that would be embarrassing and Lance would be all dorky and pleased about it (can’t have that), but they…hustle. Hustle would be the right word. There’s some hastiness about, some purpose to their step.

As they run past the kitchen and finally turn down the corridor to get to the training room, a door opens on the left and someone walks out. Hunk grabs the back of Pidge’s sweater (totally not Keith’s grey hoodie that she stole) to keep her from crashing straight into them.

“Hey, Lance,” Hunk says, smiling brightly. “We were just looking for you!”

Lance, predictably, gets all dorky and pleased about it.

“Well, Lancey-Lance is at your service,” he preens, brushing fake dust off his shoulders. “Of course I am happy to offer my services to such —”

“Why’d you come outta Keith’s room?” Pidge interrupts, squinting.

She’s pretty sure that’s Keith’s room, anyway. The door on the left has a dent on it from when Lance tripped and brained himself on it in their first week of space.

Curiously — oh so curiously — Lance turns a violent shade of red and cringes with his whole entire body.

“Whaaat,” he says, voice cracking so many times she actually winces in reflective sympathy. He laughs nervously. “That’s not — I’m not — Keith isn’t —”

He opens his mouth, then closes it, then coughs, then doesn’t bother. Pidge can actually feel the heat pouring off of him, which is so humiliating that she almost decides to be merciful.

“Is Keith also in there?” she says instead, because fuck that.

Lance looks at the floor like he’s considering swan diving onto it. “What did you guys need me for again?” he asks, loudly.

Hunk, too soft from years of close proximity to Lance, takes pity. “We need your watch, dude. What day is it on Earth?”

Lance’s dark eyes go a bit sad, like they always do when someone mentions the E-word. But it’s gone before Pidge can so much as register it, really, and then he’s glancing down at his dork ass bright blue Moana watch and saying, “One twenty-six on December 7th.”

Pidge cheers. Hunk grins.

“Clear your schedule!” Pidge shouts, pumping her fists. “Hanukkah starts in a few hours!”

———

“An…oil…feast?”

“Yeah!” Pidge says enthusiastically. Allura leans forward, intrigued — she loves stories from Earth. Anything from Earth fascinates her, really. “Thousands of years ago, Jews — my people culturally and religiously — had just freed themselves from the cruel rule of a kingdom that resided over them. They wanted to purify the Temple — that’s where practicing Jews go to pray — so they were burning holy oil. But there was only one bottle of sacred oil, which was upsetting, since that would only burn for one night. But miraculously, the oil kept burning for eight nights!”

Allura gasps. “But how?”

Pidge shrugs. “Religious Jews believe it was a miracle from God, who is our holy deity. Whether or not you’re religious though, Hanukkah is celebrated at the end of every year to commemorate Jewish resilience and hope. The oil is our physical way of celebrating, ‘cause it burned for eight days exactly — as long as it takes to make more oil.”

“And so we get to celebrate by eating delicious fried food,” Lance adds, fist-pumping. He grins at Pidge’s raised eyebrows. “My sister-in-law is Jewish, so my neice and nephew are too. We celebrate Hanukkah every year and it rocks.”

Pidge can feel her smile lighting up her body. There are bigger celebrations, and more religiously important ones, but Hanukkah is so much fun. She hasn’t celebrated in too long — it came and went last year before she even noticed, too wrapped up in finding her brother. And the year before that, her and Mom couldn’t…not without Dad and Matt. They couldn’t celebrate with just the two of them, they spent most evenings in their own rooms.

Shiro’s steady hand comes to rest on her shoulder, squeezing gently. She glances up to find him smiling sadly at her, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head.

“We’ll light a candle for each of them,” he murmurs into her hair. “Colleen, too.”

“Is that what’s done?” Coran inquires softly. “Candles lit, in remembrance?”

Pidge hums, leaning back into Shiro. He holds steady, hand staying fast on her shoulder. Keith flashes her one of his quick smiles, small and comforting.

“Yeah. Eight candles, in something called a menorah. One for each night, one for each intention.” She meets Coran’s eyes first, then Allura’s, her own expression determined. “We’ll light a candle for Altea, too.”

“I would like that,” whispers Allura, swallowing.

“I can make the menorah,” Hunk offers, “if you and Lance want to help. Lance has a good eye for design.”

Pidge takes a couple more moments in Shiro’s embrace, soaking up some of his strength. No one interrupts her. Once she feels like she can stand straight again, like her family is tucked neatly where they usually are in the centre of her heart rather than spilling out all over the place, she stands, patting Shiro’s hand as it falls away, and steps towards her friends.

“Yes, let’s do. We’ll need a few things, actually, to get ready. Keith, you think you can paint the right symbols on the dreidel if I describe them to you?”

He nods. “Yep. I’ll draw ‘em out first, it shouldn’t take long. I think I’ve seen them before, anyway.”

“Cool. Allura, Coran, you wanna put up some decorations? Lance can help you out.”

All three enthusiastically agree, rushing off to make do.

“Shiro —” She falters. “Uh, dude, maybe steer clear of the kitchen. Wanna help with the menorah since Lance is on decorations? Then Hunk’ll have more time to cook.”

Shiro pouts, as he always does when he’s teased about his cursed kitchen tendencies, but the twitch of his smile gives him away.

“I guess,” he laments. “I’m sure I could fry latkes without burning the castle down.”

Keith, Pidge, and Hunk shudder in unison.

“Yeah, right,” Keith says. “You remember when you set a pot of water on fire, Hazard Boy? Because I do.”

———

For people who have no idea what they’re doing, the decorations end up looking really nice.

Everything does, actually. By the time Lance’s watch hits six — the time they have all collectively decided will be sundown based on absolutely nothing — everything is prepped and ready to go. Keith got the characters down after a couple tries, and the dreidel looks like any other one Pidge has used before. Lance had, from what Pidge picked up from Allura’s grumbling, channeled his inner festivity dictator to ensure all decorations were as lovely as possible with their limited materials. Of course the menorah Hunk and Pidge created looks beautifully intricate, one of the more gorgeous things Pidge has ever seen even with all the wonky mismatched candles.

“Okay,” Hunk says, clapping his hands together. “If you guys want to set up the table, Lance and I will be finished plating the food shortly. I dunno about you guys, but I’ve been smelling fried food for a couple hours now, and I need to eat.”

“Please,” Pidge groans, because she’s been smelling it too and boy is Hunk ever a head chef.

Everyone rushes to get the table set as quickly as possible. Pidge makes sure to put Lance’s favourite cup (that he has a hissy fit if anyone else so much as looks at, even though it is practically identical to ever other cup except one tiny chip one the bottom that he loves for some reason) next to the chair closest to the door, where Keith always sits, because she has not forgotten the Earlier Incident. If all goes well then something embarrassing will happen for her to witness, which is all she can ask for, really.

“Can someone who is not Allura come help me bring food over?” Hunk calls from the kitchen as Pidge places the last fork. “No offense, Princess, but I watched you and Lance walk into the same door this morning and I’d rather our hard work not end up splatted and inedible on the floor.”

“Offense taken,” says Allura darkly, and Lance’ whining echoes all the way to where they’re standing.

Keith meets Pidge’s eye and snickers.

“I got it, Hunk,” he calls, jogging over to them.

“Absolutely not!” Lance screeches. “There is no way I will allow Mullet to be entrusted with something I am not allowed to —”

He cuts himself off with a loud shriek. Whether Keith finally pinched him quiet or Lance is just shrieking for drama’s sake Pidge will never know, but moments later the red paladin is striding out of the kitchen, heaping bowl in one hand, batting Lance away with the other.

“If you drop that I’ll kill you both,” Hunk promises, setting the heaping plate he’s holding down on the table.

Thankfully, nothing gets dropped (although does it ever come close). Everyone is accounted for and seated and nothing has gone to waste, and Pidge’s stomach is growling.

“Got a little bit of everything,” Hunk says. “Classic latkes, kugel, and sufganiyot. And you mentioned the zippoli and arancini your Nonna used to make, Pidge, so I made some of that too. And Lance made lots of masitas and plátanos.”

“Hope that’s okay,” Lance says, face kind of scrunched. “I know it’s not traditional, but we had it on Hanukkah, and I thought —”

Pidge grins at him. “Looks great, man.”

Everyone takes turns passing food around and loading up their plate. Pidge takes four zippoli. She regrets nothing. She has had none in several years and this looks perfect.

Before anyone starts, all eyes turn to Pidge, so she squeezes her eyes shut and remembers her mother’s blessing: “Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam shehakol niyah bidvaro.” She opens her eyes again. “Dig in, everybody.”

No one needs to be told twice. For a while the castle is even shockingly silent, everyone too busy shoving their faces. Keith chokes on latke. Shiro laughs at him until the red on his face is from more than a lack of oxygen.

“I love human food,” gushes Allura, inhaling more plátanos. “You guys got to eat like this every day?”

“Unless you lived with someone who regular fucks up ramen noodles,” Keith says pointedly, dodging Shiro’s under-the-table-kick.

“I think Numbers Two and Three might just be talented in the kitchen,” Coran responds. Both Hunk and Lance beam at the praise.

After dinner — and lordy it does not take long to polish it off — they clear the plates away, tidying up the table, as Pidge sets out the menorah. She carefully sets out the candles they have gathered, arranging and re-arranging the order. When she’s satisfied, she picks up the smallest candle, thin green stripes running up its sides, and places it in the space at the far right. She picks up the shamash — choosing the thickest and tallest one — and accepts the lighter Keith offers her. Once it is flaming, she holds it outwards, and begins to softly recite the blessings she memorized so long ago:

“Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu l’hadlik ner shel Hanukkah. Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, she-asah nisim laavoteinu v’imoteinu bayamim hahaeim baz’man hazeh. Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, shehecheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh.”

She says the words slowly, carefully, allowing herself to feel the shape of them on her tongue. They are familiar. They are heavy. They get caught in her throat, tangled, and stay there until tears begin to trickle down her cheeks, softening the way out. Her voice shakes, but she feels her own strength spreading through her like the heat of the shamesh candle.

“Make it home to me, Matt,” she whispers, as she lights the first candle.

———

“Okay, there is no fucking way.”

Pidge cackles at Keith’s indignant protest, accepting Lance’s sharp high-five and dragging in the entire pot of tokens again.

The two of them are absolutely fucking killing it. Their token piles are high. Keith has had to begrudgingly ask Lance for a loan no less than six times. Everyone else is dangerously low, except for Coran, who’s doing alright.

Pidge thinks this is righteous. As the two youngest, she and Lance should be winning by birthright, basically.

“Suck it, Kogane,” she says gleefully. She flicks a token at him. “Take some charity.”

Keith scowls at her, but takes the token because he is too broke not to. It is greatly amusing.

Ha! Loser.

The game shouldn’t last as long as it does, but somehow it keeps going for hours. Pidge suspects Shiro has several dozen tokens up his sleeve and is cheating. Allura may also be using alchemy to make more tokens appear. Either way, Pidge and Lance’s hordes are steadily increasing, and the menorah has long since been blown out, and the food has settled in everyone’s stomach, and Pidge’s head keeps drooping.

“Think it’s just you and me, Pidge-Podge,” Lance says softly. Someone tucks her hair behind her ear, she’s not sure who. Her eyes might be closed. “What say you we call it a tie, huh?”

“There’s no tie in dreidel,” she argues. “We gotta finish.”

“I’m thinking we play again tomorrow,” Coran suggests. “I’m sure when you’re fully awake you can destroy Number Four much more efficiently.”

“Hey,” says Number Four in question, indignantly.

Pidge manages a smile. Keith sticks his tongue out back at her, and the next thing she knows there are arms around her waist and she’s airborne. She buries her face in a strong shoulder and pretends, secretly, it’s her father, even though she knows it’s not.

“Say goodnight, dork,” whispers Shiro. He pauses, adjusting slightly. “Oof.”

“You’re getting old,” says Keith gleefully.

“Respect your elders,” hisses Lance, accompanied by a swift punch to Keith’s shoulder.

“Ow!” Keith complains, but interestingly he only pouts at Lance instead of maiming him. “It’s Shiro! He’s not even an elder, he’s six! You —”

“Goodnight, Pidge,” say Hunk and Allura, loudly.

Pidge smiles. Her voice is half-buried in Shiro’s shirt. “Night.”

She doesn’t remember the walk to her room, but she feels it when she’s laid down, when blankets are fluffed over her and a kiss is pressed to her forehead.

“Sleep well, Katie,” whispers a voice, and the cool metal of the fingers brushing her hair are soothing. “Love you, kiddo. Happy Hanukkah.”

She falls asleep the the click of her door closing and a warmth burning hot in her heart.

[slut4thebroken]

Exposure Therapy pt. 8

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Pairing | Jonathan Crane × reader

Summary | You make the poor choice of teasing Dr. Crane, so obviously he has to punish you.

Warnings | 18+, sexual content, smut, p in v sex, unprotected sex, breeding, kissing, hickeys, praise, edging, crying (but in a hot way), consensual sex, orgasm denial, cockwarming?, emotions? idk, neither does he tbh, bestie has no idea how to comfort you💀

Words | 3.6k

Notes | Trying really hard to keep his character accurate😓 lmk what y’all think lol

Ao3 link | <3

Fic Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Part 7

Neither of you mentioned his confession again. He seemed to be acting mostly normal and only a little awkward and withdrawn so you tried to remain the same to assure him that nothing changed. You were sitting on the couch, doodling with a spare piece of paper he found as well as an extra pencil, when you broke the silence. 

“Where are you planning on sleeping?” You asked, eyeing the large space that was empty save for a desk, a chair, and a couch. 

“The couch.” He said, not looking up from what he was working on. 

“Where am I supposed to sleep?” You asked, making him sigh and turn his gaze to you. “For now you may sleep on the couch, I doubt I’ll be sleeping much anyway.” 

“Oh. Don’t you have an apartment? A bed?” 

“The cops are going to be looking for everyone that escaped, including myself- especially myself, because I created what caused all of that.” 

“Oh… What if I go? I can bring you back some clothes so you don’t have to stay in that and anything else you need? I doubt I can lift a mattress on my own though.” 

“You want to go to my apartment in the middle of town, wearing that?” He asked, raising his brows. You looked down at your outfit and frowned, just now remembering that you’re wearing it still. 

“People are dumb enough to hang their laundry up outside. I’ll just take something before getting downtown.” You suggested, but back tracked when he was silent for a moment. “I don’t have to, it was just an idea.” 

“What will you do if the police show up?” 

“Um… I’ll tell them you’re my boyfriend and I left something there that I need.” That made him scoff. 

“They won’t believe that.” 

“Fine. Ex boyfriend. Who’s been so busy working that I had to just go there myself.” You shrugged and he narrowed his eyes at you for a moment. 

“Fine. Know that if you get caught, I have no power or leverage anymore to help you.” Honestly you didn’t expect him to agree. You figured he might want to keep you within his sight at all times but that wasn’t the case. Trying not to read into this new found trust, you were going over the plan in your head. 

“Wait, is it even within walking distance?” You realized, worried the whole plan just fell apart. 

“It’s not on this island, so no. And the train is still down because of the bat.” 

“Oh… I can probably walk, it’ll just take me longer I guess.” The sun was rising anyway, so it’ll probably be fine. “Or I’ll ask someone for a ride.” 

“Do not do that.” He said sternly, making you frown. 

“Why not?” 

“Because this is Gotham and you are a young, attractive woman. You will more than likely be kidnapped, raped, or killed.” 

“What am I supposed to do then?” He let out a heavy sigh, and got something out of his desk drawer. When he told you to come to him, you stood, leaving the pencil and paper, and walked over. 

“Give me your hand.” You held your arm out to him and he gently grabbed your hand to put on a very weird shaped bracelet on your wrist. “In case you don’t have time to put the mask on, point it away from your face and hold your breath, then push this.” He pointed to a lever near the heel of your hand and you reached for it, trying to test the motion and get used to it, but he stopped you. 

“Not- now.” He strained, uncurling your fingers. 

“Sorry.” You said sheepishly. 

Then you were leaving, finding clothes that looked about the right size and changing in an alley behind a dumpster. The tricky part was the shoes but they’re subtle enough that they shouldn’t draw very much attention. You found an empty paper bag near the dumpster and put the mask in it then started looking for someone to drive you. You spotted an older woman getting into a car and immediately walked toward her. 

“Excuse me?” You said, making her pause. 

“No change, sorry.” 

“Oh no, I was actually hoping you could give me a ride. I have a job interview downtown and it probably wouldn’t make a good impression to show up all sweaty. But I understand if it’s too much trouble…” 

She only hesitated for a moment before agreeing, telling you to get in the back and asking for the address. You read it off the paper to her and ten minutes later you were pulling up in front of an apartment building. 

“You sure this is it?” 

“It’s for a small business.” You explained, quickly getting out of the car. “Thank you so much.” You dropped the smile as soon as you turned around to walk into the building. “Fuck,” You groaned, “I don’t have a fucking key.” How could you have forgotten that part? You decided to just walk inside, breathing a sigh of relief when you spotted a front desk. 

“Hi, I lost my key and my boyfriend’s out of town and I’m supposed to feed his cat,” 

“What number?” The man asked, bored. 

“178.” He reached back and grabbed a key, handing it to you impatiently. “Thanks...” He wasn’t lying when he said everyone and everything is corrupt or just doesn’t care. 

You made your way to the elevator and pushed 17. As you waited, you went over the list he gave you. Most of the stuff was easy, an extra pair of glasses in his desk drawer, a few pairs of clothes, shoes, a toothbrush as well as the extra one under the sink for yourself, etc. But you were mostly worried about the safe and the papers he wanted. What if you can’t open it? What if you grab the wrong ones?

The elevator opening with a ding removed you from your thoughts and you made your way to his door. You worked quickly, not wanting to increase your chances of getting caught, but you took the time to fold his suits, worried he’d be upset if you just threw them in his duffel bag. You opened the safe on the second try, putting the money that was in there in the duffel bag. 

Then you made your way to the desk. Even though the rest of the place was completely tidy, the desk was covered in different papers. He said they would be on top, not in a drawer, so you grabbed everything just to be safe. 

Before leaving, you went through his dresser, praying he wouldn’t be pissed, and got some shirts and sweatpants for yourself, as well as a hoodie and socks. 

The ride back was much easier since you had money to take a cab, but you still had to walk a few minutes, not wanting to be dropped off right in front of his “hideout” just in case. 

“No trouble?” He asked, barely glancing up from what he was writing. 

“Well I realized I forgot to ask about a key- speaking of which, you should probably move because the guy at the front desk just gave it to me.” The corners of his lips turned up and your cheeks went red, still not used to it. 

“Good job.” You stared at him in shock, feeling your cheeks heat up even more, but you tried to play it off. 

“Did you just compliment me?” You scoffed teasingly. 

“Don’t get used to it. Did you bring the papers I asked for?” 

“Oh- yeah.” You set the duffel bag on the desk and he opened it to inspect the contents. “I- I hope it’s okay, I brought just a few shirts and pants for myself too.” You said nervously. When he didn’t respond, you figured that meant it was okay. He started looking through the papers, then turned to you with raised brows. “I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bring the wrong thing so I just took all of it.”

“Thank you.” He said, making your eyes widen. 

“Mhm.” Was all you could say in response. “Oh- here.” You said, suddenly remembering the wristband and taking it off to give it back. 

“Keep it.”

“What?” You choked out. “You- you’re not worried I’ll use it on you or something?” You asked, staring at him with furrowed brows. 

“Of course not.” He scoffed, then set the papers down and took out a suit and the shoes as you just waited awkwardly, not sure what to do. “Are you just going to watch?” He was teasing you, but there was still an edge to his voice. 

“N- no, sorry.” You blushed, turning around and staring at the ground, listening to the sound of clothes rustling behind you and thinking about how you’ve only ever seen his face, neck, hands, and cock- nothing else. The thought made you frown. “Unless it’s okay… then I’d like to watch.” You said quietly and the rustling stopped. 

“Why?” His tone was guarded. 

“I just- I haven’t seen you yet and you’ve seen all of me.” You explained meekly. “Nevermind, sorry.” You waited anxiously as you heard no movement from the man behind you. 

“Go ahead.” He said in a measured tone. You tentatively turned around, finding him in just a pair of dress pants, straight jacket on the floor and shirt in hand. The first thing you noticed was how lean he looks without his suit. The second were the small scars littering his torso. The third was his happy trail, leading down into his pants, teasing you. 

“Satisfied?” You looked up at him when you heard his voice, not able to read his expression. When all you could do was nod, his lips curled up into a small smirk. “Keep looking at me like that and I’ll fuck you stupid over the desk.” He warned, voice laced with arousal. 

“Is that a promise, doctor?” You purred, stepping closer to him, setting the wristband on the desk to have both hands free. He stiffened, but allowed you to move until you were right in front of him. Staring deep into icy blue eyes, you slowly raised your hands, as if you were approaching a wild animal who could attack at any second. His eyes moved to your hands, watching, but he didn’t say anything. So you slowly moved them closer until you could almost feel the heat from his body against your palms. His eyes moved back to yours and you searched them for a deterrent. When you found nothing, you placed your hands on his chest, sliding them down his stomach, making sure not to linger on any scars. You reached his pants and brushed over the button teasingly before snaking them back up his body. 

“You’re playing with fire.” He said lowly. Your hands reached his shoulders and you trailed them down his arms. Once you reached his hands, you grabbed the shirt and set it on the desk, then took both of his hands in yours, moving them around your waist. 

“On the contrary, Dr. Crane. I’m getting exactly what I want.” You placed your hands on his stomach again to snake around to his back. 

“Oh? And what’s that?” He said coyly, playing along. 

“You can let me keep teasing you to my heart's content or you can punish me. Either way I win.” You smirked, moving your hands down his back to his pants and following the waist line around his body until they met at the button. 

“You think you’ll enjoy however I choose to punish you?” He scoffed. 

“You said it yourself, doctor. You don’t want to hurt me. So I’m sure I can take it.” His hands moved to your hips, gripping tight enough to make you wince as he pushed you against the desk. 

“Foolish girl. You underestimate my desire to watch you crying and begging for my forgiveness. I have no problem torturing you, in fact, I’ll enjoy it.” You faltered at that. “Does that frighten you?” He asked, tilting his head. 

“You don’t scare me anymore.” You said quietly, feeling the arousal in your stomach quickly make its way between your legs. 

“That’s not what I asked.” He teased and you swallowed thickly, squirming under his gaze. 

“No.” You tried to keep your voice steady. 

“Maybe not yet. But I’m sure it will soon.” He reached a hand up to wrap around your neck, squeezing and pulling you forward as your breath hitched. “I don’t have to hurt you to torture you. You should know that by now.” He said quietly, gaze straying to your lips. 

“I can take it.” You said, equally as quiet, not even believing the words as they left your mouth. 

“You think so?” He cooed and you nodded in response. “I guess we’ll find out then.” He took a step back and you whined at the loss of his touch, reaching out for him. “Pick it up.” He said, gesturing to the straight jacket. Your eyes moved anxiously between him and the garment, hesitating. “This is the only warning I’m giving you— You don’t want me to tell you again.” You leaned down and picked up the straight jacket, then waited for his next command. 

“Put it on.” 

“Dr. Crane,” You whined, but he raised his brows, making you close your mouth and reluctantly slide it on. He stepped closer again then started buckling the restraints. 

“You seem to think that pain is the only form of punishment I’ll inflict. I guess given my history I shouldn’t be surprised but you need to get that idea out of your head right now or things will only get worse for you.” You stared at him with wide eyes but his gaze remained on the task of restraining you. “There are plenty of ways I can punish you.” He said clinically, like a doctor explaining something to a patient. “Like denial, for example. Not just orgasm denial… You can’t touch me either.”  

“Please- I’m sorry.” You whined, giving him puppy dog eyes that did not work at all. 

“I bet you are. I bet you’ll say whatever it is you think I want to hear right now. Unfortunately, the only sounds I want from you are moans and cries.” He led you over to the couch and kneeled in front of you to pull down your pants and underwear before having you sit. He discarded your shoes so he could fully remove your clothes, then pulled you forward to the edge of the couch and spread your legs embarrassingly wide. 

“I think you also underestimate my patience. I am more than willing to do this as long as it takes.” He started dragging his hands up and down your thighs, teasing you, never getting close to where you wanted him.   

“Please.” You whined as your hips started squirming. 

“Come now… We haven’t even started and you’re already begging? At least save that until the actual torture begins.” 

“Don’t want torture.” You muttered. 

“No? I thought you said this would be a win for you? That you can take it.”

“Please.” You whined, much brattier this time— all but throwing a fit.  

“There’s that attitude.” He chuckled. “Keep that up. It makes it more fun for me when you break.” His hands snaked up your thighs, then back down, teasing you. You whined and squirmed, but surprisingly, it worked. He moved a hand between your legs, swiftly pushing in two fingers and rapidly curling them against your walls. You let out a choked moan from the sudden pleasure as your head rolled back onto the couch and your hips bucked. He pulled you even farther down the couch, then leaned down and took your clit in his mouth. 

“Oh fuck,” You said through a moan, hips flinching as he groaned against you in response. Lifting your head to look down at him, you found his eyes already on you, making you blush and squirm under his gaze. After getting so turned on and not coming when you sucked him off before, your orgasm approached quickly. The volume of your moans increased as you started trying to rut against his face. He suddenly pulled back, his fingers halting, making you whine. 

“Please, I was so close.” You pouted. 

“I know.” He leaned back down, resuming the motions of his fingers as he started working your clit over in his mouth again. Your breathing grew heavier as you felt yourself nearing the edge again, but you let out a choked sob when he stopped. 

“Please!” You cried. 

“Shh. Be a good girl and take your punishment.” He muttered before leaning back down and continuing. You weren’t sure how many times you were on the cusp of pleasure before it was ripped away from you, but you knew it was at least five— after that you weren’t able to concentrate on counting through your crying and desperation. He pulled back but continued moving his fingers as you babbled out incoherent pleas. 

“I have to admit, my patience is wearing thin so I’ll only keep this up for a little longer.” You sobbed in relief at his words. “Once I’m ready to come, I’m gonna fuck your ass. Remember how much you liked it before? It won’t be nearly as pleasurable this time and you certainly won’t be able to come from it.” 

“No- no, please.” You said, panicked. The thought of being empty was enough to intensify your crying. “Please- I don’t care if I don’t come, just please fuck me.” You whimpered. 

“Shh, it’s okay.” He said softly, but you just shook your head. 

“No, I- I need your cock- please!” 

“How do I know you won’t come?” He asked, slowing his fingers to a stop before removing them, making you whimper at the emptiness. 

“I won’t! Please- I promise I won’t!” He watched you cry for a moment before cursing under his breath and working on taking his cock out of his pants. 

“Can’t fucking say no to you.” He muttered, helping you to lay down on the couch as he crawled over you. The second he pushed in, you let out a relieved sob that turned into a whine when you tried to move your arms. 

“Please- I want to touch you. Please let me touch you.” You whimpered, watching the way his brows furrowed as his mouth opened in a silent moan when he was all the way in. 

“I can’t, you still need to be punished.” He said breathlessly and you sobbed the hardest you have all night so far.  

“Please! Please- I’m sorry!” You cried and he shushed you as he brought a hand up to wipe away the tears on your cheeks. 

“I know, it’s okay.” He cupped your cheek and leaned down to kiss you as he slowly started moving. Trailing kisses up your jaw to your ear, he whispered, “You’re doing so well, little one. Making me feel so good.” You sobbed harder at the pet name— not used to such affection from him. 

“Oh god,” You moaned, already feeling close again. When he picked up the pace and began kissing and marking your neck, you started panting again. You tried to at least tone down your sobbing a little bit, but after you started, it was really hard to stop. 

“Fuck- I’m already close.” He whined, rutting into you desperately now. His hands never left your body as he buried his face in the crook of your neck, letting out quiet moans and shaky breaths. When he stilled with a low groan, your cunt ached at the way his cock was twitching inside you, painting your walls with his come. After a moment, his moans stopped and he was panting heavily into your shoulder. When he started pulling out, you sobbing intensified. 

“No! Please- please don’t- not yet.” You whimpered. 

“I need to get this off of you.” He said, lifting his head from your neck to look at the straight jacket. 

“I don’t care- just please don’t leave yet.” You cried. 

“Okay- It’s okay. Sit up like this.” He maneuvered you so that he was sitting on the couch and you were straddling his hips, his cock never leaving you. He started working on the straight jacket, unbuckling all of it until he could slip it off if you and toss it on the floor. Now that your hands were free, you realized that you couldn’t even do anything with them, not without making him uncomfortable. So you continued crying. 

“Okay, just- come here.” He muttered, pulling you down to lay on his chest. Your hands gripped his shoulders tight as you turned your cheek, listening to his heartbeat and feeling the warmth of his skin. His hands fumbled around for a moment before eventually settling on your hips and you knew that he was probably miserable right now. Honestly you’re surprised he didn’t just throw you off of him instead. 

“I’m sorry- I…” He shushed you, not letting you continue babbling out apologies. 

“Just breathe.” He said softly and you couldn’t help but obey. You let out a slow shaky breath, trying to calm yourself down. “That’s it. Just focus on breathing. You did so well for me, I’m very proud.” You let out another quiet sob at the praise and shushed you again as he moved a hand up to your hair, lightly stroking it to soothe you. 

“You’re okay.” He said softly. “Just breathe— you’re okay.”

Part 9

(For the sake of the plot, bestie is no longer taking oral contraceptives because he had her get an iud or something back in Arkham lol)

[miintsprigz]

Hiii again!! I wanted to ask for Sniper, Engie, and Scout reacting to the reader doing something nice for them after they had a tough day. Thank you!!

Anon, I had been wanting the opportunity to do something like this, so bless you, and I hope that you enjoy this! I sorta zoomed through Sniper’s, I hope it’s still good aaaa

Characters: Scout, Engineer, Sniper (TF2)

Warnings: none that I can think of—I made myself very soft while working on this

GN!Reader doing something nice for the Mercs after a tough day

Scout:

You’d noticed for some time that work really seemed to be running Jeremy down more than usual. He came back to base moody, unusually quiet. It was so unlike him.

Thinking back to just a few months ago…what a difference. You remembered how enthusiastically he’d come running in, holding something behind his back…quickly revealed to be a bouquet of bright red roses just for you.

“I didn’t know what your favorite was, so I thought I’d just got wit da classic!”

You had asked a question after that though, one you were especially glad you’d asked now.

“What’s your favorite flower, babe?”

“Me? …huh. Never really thought about that.”

You watched the wheels turn a bit, and a nostalgic kind of look came over him. Jeremy was quite the sentimental guy, if you hung out with him long enough.

“I think one time I got Ma these big yellow ones…lilies? They were real pretty. Smelled nice too. Probably those.”

So one day, a while before you knew he’d be getting back, you went on the hunt. Yellow lilies were tricky to find, but eventually, you secured a whole bunch and had them nicely wrapped up for your favorite fella.

You enjoyed their fragrance as you waited for Jeremy to get back…they truly were beautiful. You could see why he liked them.

Finally, the door swung open, and you quickly hid the bouquet behind your back, just as he had.

He looked exhausted…of course, his face lit up as soon as he saw you. “Ah, finally home. How ya doin’, doll? Sight for sore eyes, as always.”

“I’m good. I got a little surprise for you.”

His brows arched, curious, and you could see that infectious smile that seemed so rare these days beginning to appear again. “Oh yeah?”

“Well okay, might not be too surprising, but…” You sheepishly grinned as you held out his gift. “…I found some.”

Scout’s mouth dropped open just a bit before he couldn’t help but burst out laughing, delighted. “Aw, baby…they’re beautiful!”

You motioned for him to take them, and he did, admiring them with a softness to his gaze. Only seconds later, as he looked up at you, that trademark, somewhat mischievous grin came to his face.

You chuckled. Your boy was back. “Whatcha thinkin’ there?”

“C’mere, you~” He pulled you in and kissed you before you could even prepare.

His free hand lightly brushed through your hair as he pulled back, seeming to be at a genuine loss for words. “You are so sweet, ya know that? I love you.”

Giggling, you pecked his lips once more. “I love you too.”

___

Engineer:

Poor Dell had really been pushed to his limit lately. It felt like you hardly saw him anymore. He was always working on something. The demand kept on coming.

Lately, you had to get up early to get any decent quality time with him before he went to work. When he got home, he always just wanted to go right to sleep, and you certainly couldn’t blame him.

He felt bad, and told you as much, but you knew it wasn’t his fault. “Get your rest, honey. I know you’re tired.”

Even in the morning, he was always up before you were, and had breakfast ready to go. You talked as you ate.

So, after Engie had come back in especially rough shape the night before, with his first day off in months the following day, you decided to surprise him.

You were not, by any means, an early riser. But you had a feeling that Dell wouldn’t sleep in long, even on his day off. You’d even gone to sleep a bit early the night before.

Ever the keen-eyed one, Engie had questioned that. “Goin’ out already, lil’ nightingale?”

“Yeah, I’m sleepy. Besides, we got all day tomorrow, right?”

“Yessiree.”

You couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you got everything together. It was a whole lot of work, mixing up batter, making sure everything was cooked just right, and of course making the presentation easy on the eyes. But it would all be worth it.

Finally, you were all set. You scurried to his room, knocking to see if he was up.

“Almost ready, darlin’! I’m a little late, sorry ‘bout that…”

“Don’t worry about it, Engie, take your time…” Last thing your cowboy needed was to be rushed around on his day off.

Opening the door, he beamed at you. “Well, look at you! All bright-eyed and bushy-tailed already, huh? I got a feelin’ we’re gonna have a grand day, you ‘n’ me.”

“Oh, just you wait…I’ve got something for ya, baby. C’mon…”

“Whoa, okay—I had a feelin’ you were up to somethin’ last night, ya lil’ schemer…”

You just laughed, excitedly pulling Dell along by the hand.

“Okay, right in here.”

The still sleepy eyes that were normally hidden behind his goggles blinked quick in genuine astonishment as he took it in.

“Well…good word, that’s like the cover of a magazine there, darlin’! You do this all by yer lonesome?”

“Mhm! I got up early in the hopes that I’d beat you to it—can’t have you working hard on your day off! Just hope it tastes good…”

“It will, baby, I’m sure of it…” He trailed off a bit, and as you glanced over, you couldn’t get a grasp on what exactly was going through his head. Seemed happy at least. Maybe you were used to seeing only half of his face. But then he rubbed at his eyes just a bit…

“Oh, baby…you okay?”

“Yeah…just fine, darlin’, sorry, circuits are still a lil’ fried…” He sniffled, and without much thought you wrapped your arm around him, stroking his shoulder.

“Been real tough goin’ lately, real tough…wasn’t feelin’ like myself no more. And ya did all this just for me…for us…”

He leaned his head to the side so it rested softly against yours, taking a deep breath. “Thank you, (Y/N). You are a wonder. I adore you, you know that?”

You chuckled, pulling him close. “Thank you, Dell. I adore you too.”

You felt him jolt a little, but he made sure to kiss you quick before he moved at all. “Please tell me you’re havin’ some a’ this—”

“Yeah! Wanted to make breakfast for you, but eat it with you too.”

“Well, we better not let it get cold now, after ya worked so hard! C’mon, baby…”

You laughed as you were now the one being pulled along, with Engie still praising your hard work and delicious cooking every step of the way.

_____

Sniper:

Lately, Mick hadn’t been telling you what was going on at work…which was weird. Normally, he really liked his job, and told you all about it. Lately though, he’d answered “how was work?” with the vaguest responses.

Sniper wasn’t the type of guy to word vomit about what was bothering him, but that cued you in pretty well.

You wanted to do something to help him, something to lift his spirits again. It took some time, but eventually, you hatched a plan.

One day, instead of waiting back at his camper, you made your way over to where the mercs normally exited the fort.

You waved to the rest as they ran past, more than a few asking what you were doing here. They could figure it was something to do with your boyfriend.

Mick was the last to leave…which was a bit weird. Must have really been working hard.

“Hey, Snipes!” Immediately, his head turned at the sound of your voice, taking a surprised step backwards before he quickly ran and skidded to a stop in front of you.

“(Y/N)? …whatcha doin’ all the way out here, darlin’? Everything alright?”

He looked…confused, but delighted.

“Yeah! I had an idea the other day…and I wanted to meet up with you a little bit earlier so I had more time for it. Let’s go back to the camper so you can change, then I’ll show ya what I mean.”

His eyes narrowed, trying not to smile at this. “Hm…alright. Keep ya secrets for now…”

It was only a moment before his fingers intertwined with yours as you started the short walk back. He tended to be a bit flighty when it came to physical contact, but you understood that.

Once Sniper was done getting ready, you grabbed the basket you’d kept hidden away. “All set?”

“Yep…ya want me blindfolded for this or somethin’?”

“Nah, I don’t want you to trip. Just follow me.”

You followed the path you’d drawn out the other day, although you’d come out here before you’d left the camper to lay out the blanket and get everything all comfortable.

Just as you’d planned, you got to the spot just in time to see the sun go down, and the stars had just started to appear.

A spot near a river, where the only sounds were from the wind and water, with the occasional birdsong and cricket chirp.

You’d had some help on this—Pyro, of all people, providing you with the necessary equipment and tinder for a little campfire. They’d been surprisingly helpful, even though you couldn’t understand them at all.

“I thought it might be nice to enjoy the nice weather and some dinner…oh, and uh, s’mores, if you want. I brought stuff for that.”

The normally more reserved and serious Sniper stood there for a moment, looking everything over. Slowly, this very peaceful smile came to his face.

You were used to him being quiet, but you just had to know what he made of all this.

“I know it’s sorta cheesy, but I hope—whoa!!”

Mick suddenly pulled you in close, holding you tight. You quickly returned the gesture, feeling the side of his face sort of brush against the top of your head.

“…I don’t got much words for this. Besides thank you. Ya have any idea how much I wanted to do somethin like this with ya, roo?”

You laughed a bit, closing your eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t have exactly guessed this, but…I had a feeling you’d been having a tough couple days.”

“You were right.” It took a good while before he pulled back, and even then, his hand still clasped yours. “I was.”

The firelight illuminated his eyes, and although the mellow tone of voice stayed the same, you could see it in his face just how moved he was.

“But that doesn’t even matter to me now. Cuz right now…it’s just you, me, and the stars, baby…c’mon.”

Going slightly rosy—you hoped he couldn’t see in the shadows that the dim light casted—you followed him, and the two of you sat down to enjoy your s’mores and each other’s company.

By the end of the night, both of you laid back on the blanket, full, warm, and happy, curled up together as you watched the stars glimmer above.

You felt a slight tap against your shoulder. “Mm? What’s up, Mick?”

He glanced to the side, once again gaining that shyness that tended to creep up on him. “…ya know how much I love ya?”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, moving over a bit to kiss him briefly, eyes fluttering closed.

You pulled back, teasing, “Does that answer your question?”

He looked back at you, starry-eyed and red-faced, starting to laugh along with you.

“Hehe, yeah…yeah it does.”

“But seriously, I love you too—”

[blacklegsanjiii]

So I've had a thinking about mom!robin and child!sanji au and was wonder what are some of your head canons! Maybe robin picked up a 7-8 sanji when she was 16 or 17. This could maybe fit under nico!sanji but where robin actually adopts sanji. Feel free to make as fluffy or as angsty as you want I'm just looking for ideas :)

The first ever Nico!Sanji was them staying together and working in Baroque Works together and she did find him around eight. Instead of sending him to the Baratie to work. However I love the idea of Nico!Sanji and Robin just having a child/parent dynamic of overprotective Robin who found Sanji lost at age eight, starving and alone and she's not in much better shape at age seventeen. Sanji is so small and fits so well into Robin's arms and Robin who hasn't had companionship in so long, he holds her hand or one of them as they walk in deserted parts, when they camp for the night Robin wraps him in many arms and holds him close to her.

I feel like Robin would rarely let Sanji out her sight for years to come, between the Navy and whoever may or may not be after Sanji she likes to play it safe. Sanji is eager to please and follow her every word. She sings to him and tells him stories because she will not lose him like she lost everyone else. Sanji lets her, the first set of soft touches that he's had in years. He still flinches sometimes, involuntarily. It's not that he wants to, afraid he'll offend her or hurt her feelings. That she'll leave him, he doesn't want her to leave him, he likes her a lot! She's so nice and loving and caring, like his mom! He accidentally calls her mom about a year after they start traveling together and when Robin starts crying he thinks he fucked up and apologizes and says he can go! He's been alone before it's fi-!

But she cuts him off and pulls him to her and just says she's happy, hasn't been this happy in a very long time and that she would like it if he wants to keep calling her that. He nods and says he would like to, if she really doesn't mind. They stay sat together for a while and he does get used to calling her 'mom' more often than not. She loves it and smiles so fondly whenever he does it. They're inseparable basically.

When they make it to Alabasta, Sanji is fifteen and Robin is twenty-four, the coup has already happened and they begin to work for Sir Crocodile. Miss All Sunday and Mister Prince working together. It weirds some people out this teenager is calling this woman who definitely isn't actually old enough to be his mom 'mom' and she goes along with it and smiles so fondly to him. Crocodile doesn't bat an eye, the kid cooks well enough to make him not care and Miss All Sunday is on the hunt for Pluton so he really doesn't care as long as he gets results. If anyone does try to pick a fight with Sanji they do have to deal with Robin though, it doesn't happen often but Robin is known for being protective of him.

Sanji still cooks, he cooks for all of Baroque Works when he sees them or they're around and not off fulfilling their duties. He still wants to find the All Blue but he fights with his hands and he listens to Robin as she explains the difference in the poneglyphs to him. Their both multilingual and he knows how to read some of the language the poneglyphs are written in but not all, it's a tricky language to learn to read let alone put together. The other members of Baroque Works tend to tune them out when they start speaking other languages they don't understand, Crocodile sighs in irritation every time it happens.

Sanji is sent to Little Garden to help Mr. 3 ahead of the Strawhat's arrival and he finds it rather interesting that they're helping the princess of Alabasta, finds it hilarious the princess had to get help from pirates but then he watches them take down Mr. 3 and well, it would be nice to have company on the way back to Alabasta so he offers the Ever Pose in exchange for a lift, and he offers to cook for them as well. Only to be roped into the shenanigans of Drum Island and shit is his mom going to be pissed when she finds out he broke his fucking back kicking these idiots out of the way of a fucking avalanche. He's going to be in so much trouble, he's going to get glared at and talked to in several different languages oh no.

When they're in Alabasta, overthrowing his boss for pete's sake, he avoids Crocodile because he'll be in trouble otherwise, great trouble, but Crocodile falls and Alabasta is free. To keep appearances he pulls a gun on Robin on when she boards the ship, him having been fully invited into after Drum Island. She smiles sweetly at them and during the night, during Sanji's watch after the galley is cleaned, she finds him and they speak in a language only they know. She strokes Sanji's hair as he leans his head on her shoulder. No one really clocks it as they sail together, at least not until after Ennies Lobby and Water 7. When they get the Thousand Sunny and Robin is free for the moment and wants to live and has the freedom to live now. I feel like Usopp stumbles upon them sleeping together, just passed out curled up around each other and he fucking tells everyone their dating. Despite the visceral reaction from most of the crew. Robin and Sanji are asked about it at lunch the next day, Franky wiggling his eyebrows and then bawling when they say they're not an item, far from it. Everyone does notice they are close but can't figure out how close. They hear them talking in the other languages and falling into a mix of languages that no one else can understand.

After Thriller Bark and all the parties Sanji finds her and it's rare, he's taller than her now after all, but she pulls him into her lap and cries quietly as she pets his hair. He doesn't say what happened, but she knows he's keeping whatever promise he made to the swordsman but still. She doesn't begrudge him, never, not after what happened with Cipher Pol and Aokiji. Not after working in Baroque Works for a warlord. When he apologizes later she shushes him and makes sure he's calm and the tear stains have calmed before he leaves. She's so soft, still creepy but he's creepy right back. But then everything keeps going wrong and they're separated on Sabaody. The pacifistas, the quick vanishing and appearing in a random place, rushing to get back together, only to fail, only to see the note in the paper, only to rely on whisperings to see how their crew is doing. Ivankov and Dragon seem to be questioning of the relationship between the two of them after their meetings when they have tea with Koala and Robin. Robin simply says Sanji is her son which makes Koala lose it as Iva looks confused and Dragon shrugs it off because yeah, sure.

When they all come back together she checks Sanji over and nods approvingly in private, fussing over him publicly would only lead to the crew questioning them again when that wasn't the case. They could just come out and say it but they don't need to, not right now. Their convictions towards each other are strong and unyielding. Which is why Robin also goes to WCI, she doesn't dissuade Nami from going but does ask that she give Sanji grace. Nami gives her a questioning look but agrees hesitantly. There's so many questions going through her mind but she leaves without asking any, Luffy and them promising to bring Sanji back to them. When the crew is headed to Wano it's Usopp who asks Robin why she asked Nami to give Sanji grace for leaving. Robin clarifies that it's not for him leaving but what he's going to do while gone, what he feels he'll have to do to protect the crew. Zoro asks why she didn't go if she cares so much and Robin says every parent must let their child make mistakes, she's no different and that if she goes she will not listen to Sanji or Luffy and it could end just as badly as Ennies Lobby if she had. When everyone, Heart Pirates included, ask what she means when she said 'parent' she laughs and says she and Sanji's relationship is much more of a mother and her son than siblings, he was so small at age eight that it was easy to fool people while they ran and it became less of an act over time. Franky asks what Sanji would do while he's gone and Robin answers that she wouldn't put much past him, they were in Baroque Works for a while and have been running from the Navy for most of their lives so there's not much they wouldn't do to protect those they care about. Everyone just stares at her and Robin laughs lightly to herself and bids them all a goodnight and goes to bed.

When they're all in Wano again and Sanji is concerned about what Robin will do to him but she simply hugs him and says she's happy he's safe. Sanji nods and hugs her back and Franky is bawling saying it's SUUUPER to see mother and son reunited after everything that has happened which makes the rescue team balk at them in surprise and start questioning them. It's a long and awful conversation because Sanji didn't really tell Robin about his family either. When he's done though Robin simply hums and says it's a good thing she wasn't there because she would have defied his wishes because hell hath no fury like a scorned mother.

[hornytome]

last night was something ELSE y’all. i wore my strap under my sweats while we were hanging out downstairs. she wanted to go to the corner store after sex so she was cajoling me to hurry the hell up and get on with it. we joke that she’s like a cat in heat when she’s horny, she just stretches out and presents herself for me. i was running my hands all over her body, and when she gave me that “hurry the hell up” look, i looked her in the eyes and told her to get down on her knees.

we go through phases of using different toys and positions, and this was only the second or third time she’s given me a blow job. she can be soooo shy, but last night she was just so fucking confident and sexy. she was putting on a little show for me, taking my cock in her mouth, spit dripping down my cock. i loved seeing the little peek of her tongue as she showed my cock some attention. when she made eye contact with me, i felt electrified. it was probably the most intense i have ever felt during sex.

she’s so shy usually, but we had a talk recently about pulling her out of her shell, and holy fuck, when she’s feeling herself? she’s so fucking powerful. If she knew how much power she holds over me, i’d be absolutely fucked. i may be the dom top, but fuck it, if she told me to drop to my knees and make her cum over and over again, i would. i would do anything she asks when she looks at me the way she did last night, like she knows just how sexy she is.

we couldn’t wait any longer, so i hauled her ass upstairs. she recently shaved herself completely bare (although i fucking love a hairy pussy, don’t get it twisted), and i could see her pussy drooling all wet and puffy. i love feeling her up and slipping my fingers in between her folds when she’s bare. i LOVE hair, but whenever she shaves it makes me fucking act like a FOOL. we messed around with a couple of different positions, doggy, cowgirl, the usual. on a whim i suggested reverse cowgirl, which we hadn’t tried before.

my GOD folks, the view alone made me nearly cum in my pants. the rhythm was tricky to get down, but when we did? she proclaimed later this morning that it feels even better than missionary. she rode me and moaned like a fucking whore. my baby couldn’t help herself. i’ve been building up my stamina lately and it felt SO fucking good to just be able to fuck into her so fast and hard. we already had sex that morning, but we couldn’t help ourselves. she was nearly screaming, and i had the perfect view of her pretty cunt wrapped around my strap. her ass forms a little heart shape, and i loved seeing it bounce up and down and i fucked her. i was soaking through the damn strap. she moaned that she wanted me to cum in her and i almost combusted. she’d only admit it at gunpoint, but she absolutely has a thing for cum. creampies, on her face, her tits, swallowing, all of it. even hotter? she says the only reason she likes that is because it’s me. god, if only i had a cock. i absolutely have to get that squirting strap on my wishlist.

it feels like we’re only at the very beginning of our sexual dynamic. we’re both learning and growing so much, and it keeps only getting better and better. i think the focus for the next few months will be helping Edith build her confidence and encouraging her to voice her wants and needs, which can be really hard! whenever i ask her a question, she clams up and gets all shy, but recently i’ve managed to get her to admit to what makes her feel sexy and wanted.

she admitted in this small little voice that she loves when i make her feel small and safe. she loves when i praise her, call her a good girl, my princess, my beloved. she likes spanking and the occasional mean name, but i’m getting the sense that she definitely leans towards the “small and little and safe” end of BDSM. she loves when i talk to her in that soft voice, when i take control and tell her what to do, when she trusts me to make the decisions and guide her. she doesn’t have too much experience or vocabulary about BDSM (or sex in general tbh) so its been a little journey getting here. sometimes she doesn’t know how to say or describe what she wants. she didn’t even touch herself until a few years ago—so this whole thing has been a lot for her. i feel very privileged that i can help her figure all of this out. she deserves to feel good.

[sophrosynesworld]

Nostalgia's Table

I don't know if this is good, I haven't really edited it, so be warned haha.

"I’m so sorry I ran late, you guys. Apparently, villains never take a break for dinner," I apologize, shrugging off my coat as I join my friends. The chill from outside still clings to me, but the warmth radiating from the stoves inside the cozy restaurant makes it much more bearable.

Ochaco stands up from her seat and wraps me in a welcoming hug. "You can sit next to Sero," she says with a warm smile, gesturing to the empty spot beside him. I return her smile and slide into the seat, feeling a sense of relief and comfort in the familiar company.

The table is already covered with plates of food and steaming mugs of hot tea, the rich aroma mingling with the scent of beef and sauces.

"So, how did it go with the villain?" Ochaco asks, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she sips her drink.

I let out a sigh. "It was a tough one. He had this really tricky ability to create illusions, making it a real pain to pin him down. But we finally managed to corner him in an old warehouse. The fight was intense, but we got him."

"Sounds like you had all the fun," Bakugo grumbles, though there's a hint of admiration in his voice.

"Yeah, it wasn't fun at all," I chuckle, rubbing the back of my neck. "The paperwork was the worst part. By the time I finished, my hand felt like it was going to fall off."

Kirishima laughs, a bright, infectious sound. "Well, at least you're here now. We've missed you."

I smile, feeling a warmth that has nothing to do with the stoves. "I've missed you guys too. It's good to be back."

As the night goes on, our drunken conversations flow easily, filled with laughter and stories. We share our recent adventures, joke about our mishaps, and for a little while, the worries of hero work fade into the background.

"Remember that time in our first year when Kaminari short-circuited himself trying to show off?" Kirishima chuckles, shaking his head.

"Oh man, he was out of it for hours," Mina giggles. "Kept asking if he could borrow someone's 'brain waves' to recharge."

"And then there was that one time when Sero's tape got stuck on Principal Nezu's chair," I chime in. "He tried to play it cool, but you could see the panic in his eyes."

"Yeah, and who can forget Deku saving the world a million times," Bakugo smirks, rolling his eyes. "Who has that much beef with a 15-year-old?"

Midoriya, sitting across from us, blushes but laughs along. "Hey, it worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"We were such a mess back then," Momo smiles holding up her bottle of sake. "I can’t believe they let us become pro heroes after all." Sizzling sounds of meat cooking on the grill and the aroma of seasoned beef, pork, and vegetables fill the air.

"Pass me the tongs," Bakugo says, reaching for another slice of marinated beef. "You all remember the first time we did this? Half of you didn't even know how to use the grill."

"Yeah, like that time when Kaminari almost set the place on fire," Kirishima laughs, nudging Kaminari playfully. "You poured way too much oil, dude!"

Kaminari grins sheepishly. "Hey, it was an honest mistake. Plus, it made for a good story!"

The grill sizzles with new additions of meat and vegetables, the table fills with side dishes like kimchi, pickled radish, and bowls of steaming rice.

"And who can forget the time when Uraraka tried to use her Quirk to make the meat float?" I add, grinning. "We ended up with a piece of beef stuck to the ceiling."

Uraraka laughs, covering her face with her hands. "I was just trying to make it more fun! Who knew it would stick like that?"

"Good times," Kirishima says, raising his glass. "We've come a long way from those days, but it's nice to know we can still get together and have fun."

We all raise our glasses, toasting to friendship and the shared memories that have shaped us. The conversation continues with more stories and laughter as we savor the delicious BBQ. Bakugo, despite his tough exterior, expertly grills the meat, ensuring everyone has their fill.

"So, what's next for everyone?" I ask between bites, curious about my friends' plans.

"More hero work, of course," Midoriya replies, his eyes shining with determination. "We've got to keep improving and protecting everyone."

"Maybe we can go to the beach this summer" Todoroki suggests.

With a shared enthusiasm, everyone nods, anticipation already building for the next gathering. Our phones buzz in unison, agencies summoning us. Our gazes dart from one another, ensuring we share the same urgent message.

Phones are stashed in pockets, coats hurriedly donned, and cash tossed onto the counter to settle the bill.

"Ready for a team-up?"

[itsnotmourn]

would it be dumb if i complimented how well you draw paper

in that little teaser thing you posted i uaghuag

i struggle with patterns on like folds and stuff, like paper/posters and it always looks so flat so im. here to say yours looks nice. proportional...? questionmark?

that is all iM SO HYPED

AHAHA THABK YOU!!

Paper can be a funny material to draw… Honestly, depending on a few things, drawing a flat rectangle on a wall is still realistic!

When I drew the credits paper, I started by thinking of its pin point (aka: what is holding the paper and how rough did it stab the paper) and then drawing the outline of the paper based on that. Then, the folds/creases come after.

For example, if a small thumbtack was carefully pinning the paper, there wouldn’t be any notable creases compared to someone stabbing a knife to pin a paper!

Those creases tend to have triangular shapes also. No matter what has tampered with the paper, there is always some triangles there.

Sometimes, drawing the creases isn't necessary, because SOMETIMES, it's a pain to manually do. An example of this is crumbled paper being unfold. It's hard to draw everything!

So, my quick tip is do draw the outline with shaky lines and then either:

shade in the creases with an airbrush and lasso tool OR

download a crumbled paper texture png and then insert it in

(see bottom left in picture)

I guess one thing to note is that you’d want to avoid making paper look floppy… because it’s not a piece of cloth, it’s weightless, thin, and can hold its shape pretty well! An exception to this would be when the paper is wet (because the water is now giving it weight/gravity).

When there's a pattern/text on a fold, it can get tricky. I usually just misalign the pattern to the side or down though, and you have to think about the pattern that's under the fold too. In my opinion, it's one of those things where you may have to sketch it on a real piece of paper as your reference!

If you can’t add any to the poster for xyz reasons, maybe what you need is some texture instead! Is it old? Is it laminated/shiny? Has it been folded before? Is it perfectly held up straight or is it tilting to the side? Is it covering other posters or is it being covered? Is it clean or smeared with grime? Lots of possibilities there....

I hope this help! I'm lazy so some of this is a "let's get this over and done with" tips; I think this is something you just constantly need a reference with hehe